Suspending device for trolley-wires.



l W. An MQCALLUM -USPENDING DEVICE POE TROLLEY WIRES. APPLIoATVIoN f ILnD MAY 14, 190s.v

934,562, Pana sept 21,1909',

W/.rl/YESSES V Y. I f/gm wwf@ @am WILLIAM A. Meca-Lann, or'oiivciunafrr, omo.4

snsranniue nnvim Foa TROLLEY-winne.

asaaea.

Speoicaton of Letters Patent.

rati-)atea sept. ai, iaoa.

appiieation ined May 14, 190s. sei-iai No. 432,802.

To all'whom it may concern:

Be it lhiiiown that l, lViLniAM A. MCCAL- LUM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Suspending Devices for Trolley-W'ires, of which the following is a specification.

' and effective character adapt-ed to maintain the-wire in independently adjustable radial alinement withthe hanger or other support; its parts being held assembled in permanent relations yetcapable of interadjustment to. facilitate attachment to or detachment from the Awire or the, hanger without iinpairing the relation specified; thereby greatly facilitating the installation or removal of the device/and conserving economy of time and labor, and enabling the manufacturer to prof duce and the user to deal with the device as an integral artidle of manufacture; thereby eoonomizing in transportation and handling,

` and insuring against accidental loss of its parts. The device isalso especial'lysuitable for suspending the wire from and in connection with mine hangers and in similar situations.

To this end my invention consists in the device hereinafter more fully described, einbodying in combination a two part clamp ear, a compression ring, a rotatable stem cooperating therewith and adapted to engage the hanger or other support, and a Acollar uponthe stem, used both to rotate the stem and as a holder between'the hanger and compression ring in clamping the trolley wire- 'iii the ear.

My-invention, as constructed inpreferred form in use, is illustrate-d in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure. 1, is a side-elevation partially in section of the devicecomplete, attached to a common forni .of hanger secured to the under side of a beam or other support; Fig. 2, an end-elevation, omitting the hanger and support. Fig.l 8, a side-elevation omitting the front part of the two-part ear and showing the compression ring and also the stein` collar, in axial section; Fig. ,4, an axial section of one form of the jstenr'and its collar showing details of construction; and Fig. 5,

yconstitutes a head c,

an elevation of the alternative form of the stem.

Referring to the drawings herewith, illustrating my invention-in preferred form in which the parts described are designated by letters of reference, the suspending ear is formed in halves, designed to clamp the trolley-'wire W, between their lower extremities-the two parts, al, a2, constituting the ear, being duplicate halves divided in the vertical axial plane of the wire. The upper part of the ear thus constituted is formed as a cone-frustum, diminishing upwardly g-the parts being normally held together by a conical compression ring B fitted to embrace and seat upon the conical exterior of the ear; so that, when the vearis drawn upward within .the compression ring, the divided halves of the ear are forced together by a wedging action in the compression ring, and the wire W is clamped' between them and securely` `held by corresponding ledges at the lower inner surfaces of the ear-parts, which are formed to seat at opposite sides of the wire,

'as shown in Figs. 'l and 2. The wire thus held presents at its under surface a straight` and unobstructed path for the travel contact of the trolley wheel (not shown).

:Extendingequally into each of the said ear-parts is a countersunk aperture concentric with the axis ofthe conefrustum .'12, having at'its lower portion projecting in-V wardly an annular ledge y; and within said aperture is carried a cylindrical stem C, provided with a circumferential groove a, near its bottom, engaged byvsaid annular ledge, permitting rotation vof thestem but not vertical movement. The stein C extends upward beyond the upper surface of the conefrustum m, and beyond the upper surface of' the compression ring B, and is there embraced by a collar D, seated upon theupper edge of the compression ring B, and having a slot-and-feather vengagement with the stem by means of a. radial pin p seated in the collar D and extended into a vertically elongated be finished with plane outer surfaces for the engagement of a wrench (as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2) and -is thus used as a means of rotating the stem while permitting a vertical movementv ofthe stem itself within its enga ing collar. The portion of the vstem C be ow its groove e l which,`as the stem slot S in the outer surface of the stem A `C. The collar D may l ward also'.

'nieves upward, engages the ledge fg, and

thereby carries the parte al, a? of the ear up- The stern B isrurther construct ed to engage a vhanger H of usual form,

which, 1n mine service, in car-barns, under l bridges, etc., is (as "shown in Fig. l) secured to a support H1; but as will be readily understood it'may engage with supports of any lrind with slight mechanical adaptation. lf the device is to -be engaged with a hanger provided with a depending screw, the stem is countersunir and provided with internal screw threads as shown at C1A in Fig. 4f; but

the hanger, and is as follows: The parts be@ ing suitably proportioned, the collar D em` bracing the stem C having a slot-andfeathe1` .connection therewith in the vertically elongated slot S, and being normally seated upon' the compression ring if the device is held by means of its compression ring, the stem C will'drop down within its collar D to the uppeaiimit of the slot S, thus permitting the ear A to drop down within the compression ring, allowing its divided parts al, a2 to open apart suiiciently to admit the wire "W to be inserted in place between the same. If now the supporting hold be transferred to the lower part of the ear A, so as to temporarily hold the ear-parts together upon the wire, the compression ring B will drop down by gravity to its seat upon the conical portion a" of the ear (thus holding the divided, parts of the ear clamped. upon the wire W) and the collar D will likewise drop down relatively to its stem retaining its seat 'upon the compression 'ring (the slot S being suiiiciently elongatedv for this purpose). The device bein no'w elevated to engage the suspendingbo t of the hanger H, the stem C is rotated by means of its collar D to fully engage and seat the bolt threads with those of the axial aperture 01 of the stem (shown .in Fig. 4). As the seating nea-rs completion, it will be seen that the collar D will'contact with the under surface of the hanger, and, as the rotation of the stem continues, the ear carries the compression ring upward ,against the vcollar as a stop or abutment, and then the ear i's drawn upward within the compression ring to the limit of a frictional seating, holding all parts rmly together. It will be ob* served, however, that all. this doesfn'ot involve any rotation of the ear itself, which, therefore, except for the frictional'contact of the head o of the stem against the ledge y, and of the collar D against the upper edge of the compression ring B, is free to rotate; and may be thus accurately adjusted to any a ,screw threaded bolt-end` c2,

the device results fromeed-sea desired anni ieiaton winl- -the tanger, with# out detaching the parts.l

lt is to be noted also that the'stem ig of such limited. length as not to contact with the under surface of the hanger at any time thus allowing the collar D to maintain its function as a janrnut between the 'compression ring C and the hanger, holding all parts together and maintaining the wire securely clamped at all times.

-The detachment of the device involves a reversal of the steps described; and it will be observed that the-faction is the same whatever be the form of the hanger; l

I regard the functional. arrangement of the rotatable stein in relation to the ear as one of the importan-t features of my invention and itis obvious that it may be applied to any form of twopart ears with advantage, even when the wire is not itself held between the parts by clamping action. I

Vilhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United Stat-es, is:

1. A suspending device for trolley wires, said device comprisinga two-part holding ear, adapted to receive and clamp a trolley ,of a hanger or support.

Q. l,A suspending device for trolley wires, said device including a two-part holding ear, adapted to receive and clamp a trolley wire; means comprising a compression member mounted on the exterior of the ear, adapted to retain the two parts of the earrin their clamping position; and astem rotatively mounted in the eaiand having a threaded portion toscrew intol engagement with a hanger or support'arfd to thereby increase the clamping effect, of the ear upon the wire,

3. A. suspending device for trolley wires,

said device having in combination an'e'afrrA formed of two conformable parts adalif. 'to grip a trolley wire-therebetween a comA ression ring inclosing the ear, said ring and ear havingengaging inclined surfaces; 'means acting on the ring for retaining the two palrtsl' of the ear in their clamping position; and a.

suspending stem rotatively mounted in the ear and having a threadedportion to screw into engagement. with a hanger, sai'dstemu having, also, a limited longitudinal' movement whereby ,the ear and ringare movedf one relatively to the other, to increase-the clamping action of the ear on the wire, col the hanger.

4. A suspending device embodying 1n combination a two-part-ea1.; a

ordinately with the screwing of thestemto ufor trolley Wires,

ring adapted to lit upon and holdthe ear-nparts in compression upon the wire; a 4sterili rotativelysocketed, in the ear and having a Lneeting said stem and collar rota'tively while permittingv a vertical play.

5. A .suspending device for trolley wires, embodying in combbination a two-part ear; a ring adapted to fit upon and hold the earparts in compression upon the wire; a stem rotatively soeketed in the ear andhaving a threaded portion, said stem adapted to engage a hanger or other support by its rotation independently of the ear; and a collar embracingsaid stem above and adjacent to said compression ring; and means for connecting said steln and collar rotatively with a limited vertical play, which7 while permitting a sufficient degree of lost motion between the lparts to allow seating or unseating the wire between the clamping jaws of the ear, yet holds them together at all times .against complete separation.

6. In a suspending device of the character described, in combination'with a two-part ear, and a compression ring for holding the ear parts clampedupon the trolley wire, .a

stem socketed iotatively in the ear between said parts and engaging an annular ledge of said socket against vertical intermovenient of said ear and stem while permitting-rotation of the stem in its socket.

'7. In a suspending device of the character indicated, embodying a two-part ear, a com: pression ring, and a stem socketed rotatively in the ear, said ear having an engaging thread for a hanger or support, the combination therewithof a collar having a Slot-and- Jfeather connection with said stem in such arrangement of parts thatgnponrotating the stem into a screw thread engagementwith a hanger or other'support, the collar, contacting therewith and with the compression ring', acts as aA jamnut to hold the device irrn in relation tothe support and forces the comi pression -rng into closer wedging Contact against the parts of the ear tovlirinly clamp the trolley wire.

In testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand in ]V)resence of two subscribing witnesses. y

VLIAM A. MGCALLUM.

Witnesses:

A. L. JOHNSTON, WALTER A. KNIGHT. 

